WTFudge.. I just developed a deep hate for Lenovo.

[rimmerchant]

OK, I just got a Lenovo S10 netbook and it came with a Ericsson F3507G mobile broadband card. it's GSM for AT&T here in the USA.

Anyway I'm a Verizon mobile broadband subscriber and I got a spare internal broadband WWAN card so I popped it into the Lenovo. (it's a standard mini pciexpress card slot)


and look what popped up:

It gets stopped there in POST and I can't get pass it to goto windows... of course unless I remove the card.

WTFludge.. I have to use their list of hardware?!

It's like buying a PC and finding out you can't use ATI video cards only Nvidia cards...

[Soul Assassin]

Interesting. Never seen something like that before.

[JabberJaw]

thinkwiki.org:

"Although the MiniPCI slot is an industry standard and can accept any MiniPCI adapter,
the ThinkPad BIOS is set to only allow you to boot with an 'authorized' adapter installed.
Attempts to install an unsupported card will result in the following message:

1802: Unauthorized network card is plugged in - Power off and remove the miniPCI network card.

This is because the card's sub-vendor PCI-ID (which can be seen using lspci -v) are checked against
a whitelist in the BIOS. IBM/Lenovo's reasoning for this is that the combination of MiniPCI card and the
integrated antenna in the ThinkPad needs to be certified by the US FCC (Federal Communications
Commission).1 or similar agencies in other countries"

If Lenevo tech support can't/won't help, and you don't want to buy an 'approved' one, maybe you
could modify the bios?

http://forums.lenovo.com/t5/IdeaPad-...D1DEA87CFEE6D3

(seems kinda risky)

[rimmerchant]

damn that seems pretty complicated and risky and it don't have any direct link to files. for all I know I can be working on the wrong bios version and fluck things over

[JabberJaw]

yeah I'd just try to find an approved one I guess they don't want their customers to accidentally sterilize themselves, lol - I don't know a whole lot about this really, I'm still exploring wireless internet options (I recently got a cheap notebook while I'm building up a desktop system).

[ua549]

Uncertified configurations can harm cellular communications.
Cellular standards are strictly enforced.
That is different from the unlicensed WiFi hardware.

[MrDigital]

Regardless, it shouldn't be Lenovo's job to police unauthorized cellular devices. That's why our tax dollars fund the FCC.

I didn't particularly respect Lenovo before but this is pretty unacceptable.

[ua549]

It is quite typical. Lenovo can be fined because they allowed a non-FCC approved configuration that requires their approval. The FCC can find out about it if that unapproved configuration disrupts communications.

[rimmerchant]

Uncertified configurations can harm cellular communications.
Cellular standards are strictly enforced.
That is different from the unlicensed WiFi hardware.

when I was googling my problem, it seems people with other WiFi cards ran into the same problem not just WWAN cards.

I don't think Dell machines have that restriction..

[Nater]

The only good product Lenovo has is the Thinkpad. It's good because they didn't mess with IBM's formula of tough, no ******** laptops meant for business. I really can't say that I'm interested in a single other product that they offer.

[wh666-666]

when I was googling my problem, it seems people with other WiFi cards ran into the same problem not just WWAN cards.

I don't think Dell machines have that restriction..

You may be surprised ...


I posted the exact same issue a few years back when HP started doing it. Many OEM's do it now. Not just Lenevo !!



You can search online and find a way to hack the bios so it accepts any hardware upgrade, however this will invalidate any remaining warranty.

[Timman_24]

Seems like this is more of a FCC crackdown instead of the manufacturers wanting you to buy their approved cards. I'm guessing the FCC has put the heat on them in recent years, perhaps some people were using cards in an improper way either accidentally or intentionally.